Our state is about to celebrate it's 100 years (centenial).

There is going to be a part of the celebration, where about thirty Nations (tribes) will be here. From here, (Oklahoma)Home of the red man. I forget how many we actually have. Anyway, it is my understanding that the Indian Nations is about to raise a little hell about immigration. Questioning how we soon forget who was the real first American, and who was the immigrant. Saying that for the most part the celebration is honoring mostly cowboys and singers and astronauts. And only showing tribes in full dress. As in dancing and so forth.

I will keep you informed how well this goes.
I feel this is going to get interesting. The American Indian has been silent too long. I really have been expecting this.
Kat

I can see that. good point.

Now I'm interested to learn of the Natives' thoughts.

I just watched it on our local news channel. I tried to research it, but couldn't find the link. I wanted more info. I am still looking. Different tribes leaders are speaking.
Kat

Ye, we are all immigrants. I think the real issue on immigration is people coming illegally. Yes to go way back in time, that would be considered illegal, but now that this is a "civilised" nation with laws they should be followed. As it is said - if I were to move to France I would be expected to do it the proper way. Learn the language abide by their laws and not expect France to accomodate me.
Sorry for going off track there a bit,

I understand. But in the case of the immigrants of old and now is this: The old immigrants, most were not leagl, and they did not learn the native language. They made the Indian man and woman learn theirs.

Look what I found here. I have never been taught this about my own state. I have learned a brand new respect for our black brothers and sisters.

Oklahoma's History

Although one of the youngest states in the nation, Oklahoma is a land that reaches far back in time. Oklahoma's recorded history began in 1541 when Spanish explorer Coronado ventured through the area on his quest for the "Lost City of Gold." The land that would eventually be known as Oklahoma was part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase.

Beginning in the 1820s, the Five Civilized Tribes from the southeastern United States were relocated to Indian Territory over numerous routes, the most famous being the Cherokee "Trail of Tears." Forced off their ancestral lands by state and federal governments, the tribes suffered great hardships during the rigorous trips west. The survivors eventually recovered from the dislocation through hard work and communal support. Gradually, new institutions and cultural adaptations emerged and began a period of rapid developments often called the "Golden Age" of Indian Territory. Following the destruction of the Civil War, Oklahoma became a part of the booming cattle industry, ushering in the era of the cowboy. Western expansion reached the territory in the late 1800s, sparking a controversy over the fate of the land. Treaties enacted after the Civil War by the U.S. government forced the tribes to give up their communal lands and accept individual property allotments to make way for expansion. There was talk of using Indian Territory for settlement by African-Americans emancipated from slavery. However, the government relented to pressure, much of it coming from a group know as "Boomers," who wanted the rich lands opened to non-Indian settlement.

The government decided to open the western parts of the territory to settlers by holding a total of six land runs between 1889 and 1895. Settlers came from across the nation and even other countries like Poland, Germany, Ireland and Slavic nations to stake their claims. And African-Americans, some who were former slaves of Indians, took part in the runs or accepted their allotments as tribal members. In the years that followed, black pioneers founded and settled entire communities in or near Arcadia, Boley, Langston and Taft.

On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state. Statehood had become a sure thing, in part due to a discovery which made Oklahoma the "place to go to strike it rich" -- oil. People came from all parts of the world to seek their fortunes in Oklahoma's teeming oil fields. Cities like Tulsa, Ponca City, Bartlesville and Oklahoma City flourished.

Oklahomans are filled with pride for their land of diverse cultures, hundreds of scenic lakes and rivers, and genuine warmth and friendliness. This proud Oklahoma spirit is echoed through the accomplishments of our citizens, such as humorist and "Cherokee Cowboy" Will Rogers, Olympian and American Indian athlete Jim Thorpe, African American author Ralph Ellison, astronaut Thomas Stafford, jazz musician Charlie Christian, and country music superstars Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, and Jeremy Castle (http://www.JeremyCastle.com).

African-Americans

The history of African-Americans in Oklahoma is a story unlike any to be found in the United states. African-Americans initially came to this region on the "Trail of Tears," as Indian slaves. Later, they came as cowboys, settlers, gunfighters, and farmers. By statehood in 1907, they outnumbered both Indians and first and second generation Europeans. They created more all-black towns in Oklahoma than in the rest of the country put together, produced some of the country's greatest jazz musicians, and led some of the nation's greatest civil rights battles.

One of the great omissions in history books was the role African-American soldiers played in the Civil War. Blacks first fought alongside whites during the Battle of Honey Springs, an engagement fought on July 17, 1863 on a small battlefield outside present-day Muskogee.

Black troops held the Union's center line in that battle, breaking the Confederate's center and giving the Union a critical win that secured both the Arkansas River and the Texas Road (the region's major transportation routes). This ensured the Union a solid foothold in Indian Territory -- one it never relinquished.

A year after the Civil War ended in 1865, Congress passed a bill providing provisions for black troops, what became the 9th and 10th cavalry. The 10th went on to be headquartered at Fort Gibson; the 9th was stationed at Fort Sill. Black soldiers built Oklahoma forts, fought bandits, cattle thieves, and Mexican revolutionaries (including Pancho Villa), and policed borders during the land runs. They also played a critical role in the Indian Wars of the late 1800s, earning the respect of Native Americans who gave them the name "Buffalo Soldiers."

After the Civil War, Freedmen and new African-American settlers in Oklahoma could vote, study, and move about with relative freedom. Pamphlets distributed throughout the South urged African-Americans to join land runs in Indian Territory, to create black businesses, black cities, and perhaps even the first black state. Pamphlets promising a black paradise in Oklahoma lured tens of thousands of former slaves from the South. Eventually 27 black towns grew to encompass 10 percent of Indian Territory's population.

Today many of Oklahoma's original black towns and districts are gone, but those that remain still host rodeos, Juneteenth celebrations, and community reunions.

Seems the black man and Indian were here before the white man or Spanish.
Kat

Kat

And Indians held blacks as slaves. Interbred with them and just recently voted to exclude them from tribal monies. The Feds overturned it stating it went against the treaty.
One tribal leader was quoted as saying, We don't need their kind making claim to what's ours. They wanted them out even if the blacks had Indian blood. So, I suppose the Indian owes retribution to the blacks also.
I am 1/16 Choctaw, DiIberville Clan.

My great grandma was full blood Cherokee, Smith clan. I was told by my grandma that she was either a medicine woman or a see-er. Her eyes changed color as do mine. That is why on profiles if it gives alternative color options I use "other".
Her husband; the Thompson clan was of Cherokee blood also. I do not know how much. The rest is German.

I have been told that the slaves were brought here and traded for goods of the Indian. The Indians were....remember uncivilized? They did not know any better. They gave them up rather easily.

Oh, and as for breeding with slaves....what about that? I wonder just how much black blood we all sport in us. I mean afterall...our ancesters were also slave owners and bred with them, men and women alike. Well, my ancesters on both sides I imagine.
As for being uncivilized: They were a hell of a lot more civil than the people that came and stole their land from them.
Kat